This post contains major spoilers for episode 1×07 of Krypton, “Transformation.”

After last week’s reveal that the voice of Rao is Braniac, Braniac takes control of the Saggitari soldiers who tried to kill him and overthrow him. Jayna however gets away. The Voice of Rao calls Daron-Vex into his quarters to threaten him over the failed coup to overthrow him. Daron tries to lie, but Braniac can tell that he’s lying. Daron gives up the names of the people who were planning to overthrow him which includes himself, Jayna, his daughter Nyssa and 5 members of the council. When asked why he did it, Daron says it’s because he doesn’t believe in religion anymore after all religion on Kandor was changed to Rao-ism. When asked who does he believe in, Daron says himself, but he no longer believes he can be in charge. The Voice of Rao plans to publicly execute the members of the coup, including Nyssa.

Seg & Lyta try to find a way to heal Zod from his injury however they must get through the city and into Kem’s bar. Seg wonders why there’s no drunk people in the streets during the end of the Nova Cycle and when stopped by a guard he acts drunk to get rid of suspicion. Once at Kem’s. he closes the bar so they can attend to Zod. Kem tells everyone why the city is locked down and Lyta doesn’t for one second believe that her mother would ever be a part of the coup. Kem also tells Seg that Nyssa is a part of it and they are going to execute her.

In the Fortress, a down on his luck Adam Strange, get’s Val-El to help him fix his Zeta-Beam. Val wonders where Seg is and what’s going on with Adam but Adam withholds all this information from him. All he can tell Val is he’s going back home to Earth. Adam talks about all the heroes on his Earth with nicknames. When Val asks him what his nickname is he said he doesn’t have one because he’s not a hero, he’s just a D-Lister, a liar and a loser. He tells Val that he’s going back to Earth to send a hero back to Krypton with a nickname.

Back in Kem’s bar, Zod is healed from Kryptonian technology. Seg needs to go find Nyssa to save her and when Lyta asks why, he tells her because Nyssa tried to save her when she was almost executed. Lyta leaves to go find her mother and Seg goes to find Nyssa.

Daron goes to Nyssa to tell her that he tried to protect her but instead tries to kill her so she won’t be an agent of Braniac. Daron shoots at her but it’s just a hologram. Nyssa then appears behind him with a knife to his neck. Seg goes to Nyssa’s but at first isn’t allowed to see her until the the Chief Magistrate lets Seg in. Seg threatens Daron until he lets him go. Daron calls the guards in and escape while Nyssa and Seg fight them. Eventually Seg and Nyssa knock out the guards but Daron gets away.

Lyta finds Dev in the icy outskirts of town on her journey to find her mother, however Dev seems a little off. Eventually they find Lyta’s mother, Jayna posted up with a gun. Jayna tells Dev that it’s good to see that someone else in there coup is alive before Dev takes off his hood revealing a red disk in his forehead. Dev tells them Braniac has showed him his true purpose. Jayna then shoots at Dev but he is too fast, evades the attack and goes after Jayna and Lyta. Eventually with her life on the line, Lyta shoots Dev’s arm off and he goes face-planting into the ground. Jayna is proud of Lyta for doing what was necessary. Is Dev really dead? We don’t know.

The voice of Rao brings Daron in to berate him for not being able to get the job done, he is unsurprised that Daron could not come through. He decides to let him go however.

Lyta is mad at her mother and doesn’t understand why she would plan the coup, it is very unlike her. Jayna is one of the most honorable people but when she had to make a choice (Honor or to save her daughters life) she chose her daughter, how sweet. Lyta subtly smiles probably because that’s all she’s wanted to here from her mother her whole life. Lyta brings Zod in to meet Jayna. Jayna asks who Zod’s father is, however Zod says he never met him as he died in the battle for Kandor.

Nyssa gets all emotional from Seg saving her and tells him that she didn’t think she deserved it. Eventually the two lock lips not before a guard catches them and they run off. Nyssa and Seg are almost captured by Braniac’s guards but Lyta saves the day. With Nyssa there, Seg tells Lyta she’s never been as attractive as she was just now (AWKWARD). All of them finally agree on a plan to show Kandor who the real voice of Rao is at the Nova Cycle happenings, they head there.

Back at the Fortress, Val fixes Adam’s Zeta-Beam. Before he can leave, Val wants to know why Adam chose to come here. Adam tells him that he thought if he came here and saved the day the Justice League would notice him and he wouldn’t be a loser. Val tells him he can still set things right. Adam tells him he’s going to set things right by killing General Zod and then deletes their conversation and heads off.

As the voice of Rao comes out to the Nova Cycle proceedings, one of his followers comes out and says he’s not who he claims to be, he’s a fake. The voice of Rao/Braniac then tells the crowd he’s transcended and turns himself into a levitating fire god and floats up above the stage. The crowd looks in awe as Braniac promises eternal life. End.

Thoughts:

Positives

After I claimed last week’s episode was the best yet, “Transformation,” kept the ball rolling and gave us an even better episode.

This week we got a lot of great interactions between characters such as Daron-Nyssa, Nyssa-Seg, Jayna-Lyta, Zod-Jayna, Adam-Val, and Daron-Braniac/Voice of Rao. My favorite interaction being between Lyta and Jayna who emotionally tells her daughter that she chose to save her over her own honor.

No big cliffhanger. It seems like at the end of every episode we get a big reveal or cliffhanger. While we did get to see the Voice of Rao transcend into a flaming, levitating entity, it wasn’t really a cliffhanger. Krypton doesn’t need a cliffhanger during every episode, this weeks episode was solid without one.

Who is General Zod’s father? Dev? Seg? It’s anyone’s guess, but I’m going to say it’s Dev for the time being.

Braniac is one scary dude, Krypton has crafted a truly imposing villain.

Negatives:

Adam’s moping. The Justice League name drop was cool, his moping over being a loser with no nickname was not. Now he’s going to double down on trying to prove General Zod is a bad guy by killing him? Oh, Adam, I know you feel like an alien on this planet but you need to stop acting so sneaky. Hopefully Adam gets a chance to redeem himself because without anyone on his side in the fight, he’s dead meat.